family photojournalism :: at home with the coopers

first off, in the interest of full disclosure, this is an off-season, practicing-for-a-class photo session for which i begged our friends jordan and charis to let me have 30 minutes of their time on a friday afternoon to do my homework on them. :)

the class i've been taking is called Light + Life, which I promise you is a coincidence and bears no association whatsoever with the workshop of the same name which i teach! this class has been challenging me to slow down and be more deliberate and thoughtful in things such as seeing light, metering in different way for different scenes and for different looks, using rules of composition (and artfully breaking them), and fine-tuning my flow for setting up and planning sessions with clients. good stuff! 

now back to the coopers. these two are a phenomenal couple. they are joyful and intentional, they posses great taste and deeply-rooted loyalty. they are following jesus with their whole lives, whether in outright ministry positions or in the restaurants and bars at which they are or have been employed. our family does life pretty closely with them (golly they love our kids well!), but it was a special sort of time with them to just become a fly on the wall of their friday afternoon, soaking up the mutually-respectful and enjoyable companionship that's woven into their family culture. 

enjoy...

smile :: the ferris family

Anne and Andy have had me do a christmasy photo session for them twice before. It's always creative, with Anne having prepared simple props to bring along to christmas tree farms or nature centers. They've always been a combination of them enjoying an activity together AND stopping to smile at the camera while cuddled closely together. Always so fun, this meshing of photojournalism and portraits. 

This time around, we decide to do something similar indoors, at their own home. When I arrived, they already had one cookie sheet of from-scratch sugar cookies (with orange zest) baked, and were ready to frost them with peppermint frosting (after their daughter offered me one to devour right inside the front door). So we photographed the making of sugar cookies with green and red sprinkles, then they snacked on them beside their large and lovely tree. And, to round things out, we took a few solid portraits by that tree (including some cat-inclusive ones), and on their adorable couch. I love these shots of this creative, expressive, and warm family. 

This was so fun, that I'm consider offering holiday-season, in-home, mini-storytelling sessions centered around families doing christmasy things together (decorating a tree, baking cookies, cutting down a tree, sledding in the yard, sharing hot cocoa and cuddles, etc). That'd be fun, eh?

family photojournalism :: the ott family

in the still-dim morning hours of a saturday during advent, the Ott family can be found in the kitchen making cinnamon rolls (from scratch!) and drinking hot cocoa with whipped cream. their littlest one, not even yet 2 months old, is still sleeping soundly in her room while they do this, and as they decorate the personal christmas tree of their 7 year-old, schaeffer, in her bedroom. none of them can wait for gracie to wake up, so they gently rouse her, dressing her tenderly by a space heater, before heading out into the living room to decorate their huge christmas tree together. daddy snuggles a drowsy gracie while schaeffer and mommy put all their most special, memory-rooted ornaments on the tree together. christmas music is playing softly in the background. the timer goes off for the cinnamon rolls, so they frost them, dish them up, and gather round the large coffee table to enjoy them while doing the day's advent reading. after that, it's back into mommy and daddy's big, luxurious bed for family cuddles and reading books together. i think they could have stayed there for quite a bit longer, but i dragged them out to the sofa for a couple smiley family portraits before taking my leave. i imagine the rest of their saturday together was as cozy and warm and full of love as those first two hours, and i'm a little sad that i couldn't stay for all of it. 

happy advent and merry christmas to you, Otts!

family photojournalism :: the N family

these "little years," they go by too quickly. if we don't stop and freeze-frame them, they seem to slip away.

D and her husband J have very full lives with lots on their plates. they've moved around several times for D's work. but they have these three little ones, ages 5, 3, and 1 who are incredibly precious to them. and so, though it was late in the season and the weather was abysmal, they asked me to come around and photograph some of their family moments together at home on one of the ONLY free days they had left before the new year. 

we started our session with a walk to the bus stop where we met their oldest as she got off the bus. back at home in the warm house, the littles played with trains a while. then J put together an amzing dinner, while D read to the bigs in the in-kitchen recliners (best idea ever!). they shared a meal together around the kitchen island, then transitioned to "lightening baths" (which just means super fast baths), getting into pajamas, and a popcorn party by the fire. 

spending an evening with the Ns was cozy and somehow familiar. so glad to have had the opportunity. 

one nice thing about family photojournalism sessions is that they aren't weather-dependent, really. they can happen at any time of year, hybrid of indoors and out. i have another christmas-y one coming up soon. can't wait! contact me. i'd love to come tell your story, too.

smile :: the wolfman family

Mark and Janelle have been moving all around the country for the last few years. There had been so many new starts in new places, and somewhere along the way family portraits got neglected. They hadn't had any since their son was born (he's 1.5), and so were so excited for this day.

Janelle knew she wanted some solid portraits -- the four of them dressed in a coordinated color palette and smiling at the camera -- but she also appreciated my family photojournalism work, so I did a hybrid session for them at their home. I guess it ended up being mostly family photojournalism style, but i love the portraits we came out of this session with as well. It was really natural to move between the two types of shots, all while keeping a playful feel so that the kids would be smiley and not require too much bribery (note: if you bribe your kids to behave during family photo sessions you are SO not the only one; all of my clients do this!). 

I think these children has some of the brightest smiles and brilliant eyes ever. 

Tip from Mark and Janelle: to get candid smiles out of your small children during a portrait, try subtly tickling them in the ribs or under the arms as they sit in your lap or are in your arms. Works like a charm. But be sure maintain a normal portrait-worthy facial expression on your own face while doing this. 

family photojournalism :: the malinowskis

"I was wondering if you've ever done a photojournalism session in the woods?" she asked. 

The truth was, I hadn't. Except little tidbits of it with my family on our own adventures and trips. But the idea was a brilliant one, particularly for THIS family, who so loves and frequents the outdoors together. She explained that nature walks were something they often did together as a family and wanted documented, but because they were so busy simply enjoying one another, and because they'd had a string of broken camera issues, they were lacking photos of this favorite past time. I asked her to tell me more about a typical hiking adventure for their family. It included nature guidebooks, their dog Molly, the collecting of beautiful things, the stopping to wonder and explore. 

Jessica and Eric have a real gift for being present to one another and to their world. Hiking through Seidman Park for a couple of hours on a Sunday afternoon was such a gift to  my harried soul. We saw so many beautiful things around us, and I got to see so many beautiful things between them. 

Come for a walk with us...

If you look at this and your wheels start to spin with ideas for your own out-of-home family photojournalism session, I'd like to hear more about it. You can tell ANY story in this way, and I'd be so happy to collaborate with you on it. Maybe you have a special weekly experience with your daughter's dance class, a favorite restaurant you frequent, or an upcoming trip to the beach that you'd like to capture? The sky's the limit, friends. Dream on!